To the Bully

Mia Winhertt

To the bully in school
Who took my lunch away,
I say,
I am sorry that you didn’t
Have lunch of your own.
I pity that this is how you dealt with it.

To the bully in the playground
Who wouldn’t let me play,
I say,
I am sorry that you needed a foe
To compensate for not having friends.
I pity that this is how you dealt with it.

To the bully in college
Who spread rumours about me,
I say,
I am sorry you needed to spin a tale
For your reality wasn’t interesting enough.
I pity that this is how you dealt with it.

To the bully in the workplace
Who tried to make me feel worthless,
I say,
I am sorry that this is how
Your senior treated you.
I pity that this is how you dealt with it.

To the bully of a relative
Who got to my parents through me,
I say,
I am sorry you couldn’t look beyond
The blindfold of your kids’ love.
I pity that this is how you dealt with it.

To the bully in transit
Who tried to ruin the start of my day,
I say,
I am sorry that you left home
Frustrated with problems of your own.
I pity that this is how you dealt with it.

To the bully in waiting
At the next corner,
I say,
I am sorry for you, not myself.
For I have seen many like you.
I just pity that this is how you dealt with it.

 

Hi. I am Mia Winhertt. Before you all go on and feel extremely sorry about me, let me clarify that not all of the above experiences are my own. Some of them are what people usually face. But under whatsoever circumstances, bullying is NOT okay. I’m sure that you must have faced something similar sometime. So this one’s for you! The least we can do is spread awareness about it. Help me do that. Help me help you, through my words.

66 thoughts on “To the Bully”

  2. Good for you. A very nice way to state a very needed truth. Bullying is done by those who have low self esteem and no compassion. Wouldn’t it be nice if that word didn’t even exist in our society. Love 💕 Joni

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    1. Thank you so much for your appreciation, Joni! 🙂

      Yes, the bullies are the weaklings. As long as there are people, I think, there will be jealousy by the weak towards the strong. The strong have to just remember who they are. 🤗

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  4. Mia this was a post worth really applauding. I can’t stop thinking about it. When I was in grade school my ears stuck out. I was called Dumbo, monkey ears and so I started folding masking tape and putting it behind my ear lobes. I would get sores behind my ears and they would bleed. I was also skinny, so I was called Joni bologna stick of macaroni. As you can imagine my self-esteem was non-existent. My book talks a lot about this subject. So may God Bess you my friend for writing such a vividly honest poem about this horrible abuse. Love to you my friend, and hugs and buckets of wildflowers to you. Joni 🌸

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    1. I can’t tell you how humbled I feel that you would want to share your true story with me, Joni. Thank you so much for all of your wonderful wishes for me! I wish just as much if not more! 🤗🌸🌸🌸

      Some people think that children grow out of any kind of behaviour inflicted on them, sooner or later. But that is not the case. It stays with them. They might just learn to hide it well. From my heart, I send out positive vibes to that little girl who went through that bad phase you mentioned.

      But I’m glad that finally, she grew up to be the “you” you are today. That is something to be proud of.

      For you, dear! 🤗

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      1. I am sorry you were treated badly or anyone else. No one deserves to be hurt through bullying and tiny hearts are easily broken and can take decades to heal but it is hard to ever forget. Thank you Mia for your very kind words. Much love coming your way as well my friend. Love 💕 you. Joni

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  6. A marvellous poem about something that affects so many. I love your nuanced approach and your final message. Bullying is always wrong, whether at school or in any other context. Generally speaking, lovely people get bullied at some point in their lives and I hope that is some consolation to all of us who have experienced it. But sometimes, of course, bullying is so serious that some people, especially children, don’t survive it. I wish all bullies, everywhere, could understand the serious and potentially fatal consequences of their actions.

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    1. Thank you so much for your heartfelt appreciation, Imorgana! 🙂

      Yes, bullying is always wrong, no matter what. It is just a way of some to pass forward the hurt they carry within themselves, to they who have had no hand in it. Now to punish someone for someone else’s wrongdoing is wrong. Period.

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  10. Powerful, Mia, and a mature, balanced way to parry the Bullies’ provocations.

    One wonders, though, whether this wisdom always is available amidst the troubles.

    Oftentimes it is, yes, though your splendid way of framing the issue always applies in retrospect. Thus, it contains the nuisance and successfully quarantines it. In so doing, you avoid the angst, resentment and, eventually, bitterness that allow the bully strike at you twice. …and forever, if you’d allow it.

    Challenge deftly surpassed!

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    1. Thank you so much for thinking that I did a good job with this one, Keith! 🙂

      Yes, the bitterness inside the bully is anyway a lot even before the bullied comes into the picture. Then, it just keeps on increasing. We have to stop it somewhere. For both of them are getting hurt. Especially the bullied.

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  12. Yes for raising awareness Mia on this delicate subject.
    Bullying can destroy confidence and cause great damages too.
    It’ s key to talk about it.
    And key to open the door so people would feel free to express what they are or were going throught
    Silence can’t solve issues.
    Thank you

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  15. This is what a ‘mature’ person feels. However, it is not so easy for others and in some cases, the bullies don’t even know they are being bullies. They think it is fun. And worse are their friends who egg them on for entertainment. However, the poem was very well written and addresses an important issue.

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    1. Thank you so much, dear for your appreciation of my work as well as putting forth a very valid side of the issue.

      Yes, shame on those who wait for entertainment by putting someone else at stake. They are the worst kind of cowards.

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words, Cherie! 🙂

      I hope you came out of the trauma it caused you, no matter how big or little. You didn’t deserve the bullying. No one does. That is why we must support each other.

      You are most welcome, dear. 🙂

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words, Lynda! 🙂

      You are more than welcome!

      Let awareness be our shield as well as sword against bullying. Good to know that you are with me.

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  26. Very interesting. Bullying has become quite the plague upon a young person’s existence. Despite school district’s ‘bullying awareness’ programs starting some 30 years ago the problem seems to have gotten worse. At the end of WW II an Israeli team went around and brought to justice or eliminated NAZIs that had survived the war. Not that I’m saying the same should be done for bullies. (The dream is that authorities would step in and stop an act of bullying and ask the miscreant, “What are you thinking? Why are you doing this?”

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    1. Thank you so much for stopping by to comment and appreciate. 🙂

      Yes, bullying is a menace that needs to be stopped — at the larger as well as smaller levels. Authorities have to be strict about it. Individuals should also be strong and know when to say no.

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